Wendell Barnhouse is a nationally-known and respected columnist who has spent over 20 years covering collegiate athletics. He has reported from 25 Final Fours and more than three dozen bowl games and has written about the Big 12 and its schools since the conference's beginning. Barnhouse will be updating the Big 12 Insider on happenings and behind-the-scenes information about the conference.

Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg had successful heart surgery Tuesday morning to replace the batteries in his pacemaker. The surgery took place at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Hoiberg’s wife Carol Tweeted : "Surgery went well and @ISUMayor32 is RECHARGED" along with a picture of the Cyclones coach in a hospital bed giving a thumbs up. The procedure went so well that he is expected to return to Ames quickly.

“The surgery performed this morning at the Mayo Clinic to replace my pacemaker was successful,” Hoiberg said in a statement released by the school. “The plan is for me to be discharged and allowed to return to Ames this afternoon. I want to thank my doctors and nurses at the Mayo Clinic, as well as everyone that has extended their well-wishes to me. Our family truly appreciates your support.”

Hoiberg’s NBA career was ended in 2005 when a routine physical showed he needed surgery to remove an enlargement on his aortic root. During that surgery, doctors installed a pacemaker that helps maintain a regular heart beat.

"It's very routine for people with pacemakers," Hoiberg said before the surgery. "It was going to happen eventually."

While working out Monday morning at home, Hoiberg could tell something wasn't right.

"My (heart rate) isn't supposed to go below 70, but I could feel it was lower,” he said. “I could just feel it. I'd do a workout, and when I got done, I could tell my heart rate wasn't elevating. It wasn't going past 65."